It just amazes me to see people with their pets. How they literally make them part of the family. And why not?
A puppy will love you without any strings. Even in your darkest days, a kitten will snuggle up & purr to comfort you no matter what.
Cats & dogs have performed amazing acts of courage & love for the sake of the masters they have come to adore.
Cats have saved their masters by warning them of fires that break out in the night. They have been known to travel hundreds of miles to find their way back home when they have somehow become lost.
Dogs have fought off bears to save their masters. They guide the blind. They find drugs, unexploded bombs, land mines, and avalanche victims. They searched for survivors in the aftermath of 9-11 until their paws were raw and bleeding.
Then there is the recent story out of New Zealand. A plucky Jack Russell terrier named George saved five children when they were attacked by two pit bulls. The children were playing with George as they returned home from buying candies at a local shop. When the pit bulls charged, George put himself between the marauding dogs and the children. He fought them off as they attacked a 4-year-old in the group. The children ran for help and by the time adults returned to rescue George he was badly injured. Later that day he was put down by the local veterinarian.
The size of the heart in most pets is only surpassed by the magnitude of their love, loyalty, and affection for those who care for them.
PETS = BIG HEALTH BENEFITS
American researchers have discovered that owning a pet can significantly reduce your risk of a common cancer. And that's not all, says Emine Saner
The body of evidence supporting the notion that pet ownership is good for your health grew even fatter this month. A new study, published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, found that keeping animals can cut the risk of developing the relatively common cancer of the immune system, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, by almost one third. "The idea that pets and good health are associated goes back 20 years or more," says Dr June McNicholas, a psychologist who has researched the relationship between people and their pets.
The catalogue of health plusses can't all be attributed to regular dog walking however. When a study suggested that people who own pets have better cardiac health, says McNicholas, "one of the significant factors in people recovering well from a heart attack was owning a pet, but it wasn't just dogs. It applied equally to cats."
Pets Are Good for Cardiac Health
The Baker Medical Research Institute in Australia studied 6,000 people and found that those who kept animals had lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol - and therefore, a lower risk of heart attack. Another study, conducted at the University of Minnesota and published earlier this year, concluded that cat owners were 40% less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack than people who didn't have a cat. Adnan Qureshi, the neurology professor who led the study of nearly 4,500 people, said he believed that people who stroked their cat experienced less stress and anxiety and therefore were at a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Pets Boost A Peron's Immune System
This month, a study by researchers from Stanford University and the University of California found that regular exposure to a cat or a dog could reduce one's chance of developing non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It is thought that exposure to allergens - from cats and dogs - could boost the immune system.
Pets Help to Reduce Stress
Walking with a pet helps to sooth nerves and offers instant relaxation. Studies conducted worldwide have repeatedly shown that the impact of a stressful situation is lesser on pet owners, especially males, than on those who do not own a pet.
Pets Help to Prevent Heart Disease
Because pets provide people with faithful companionship, research shows they may also provide their owners with greater psychological stability, thus a measure of protection from heart disease.
Pets Help to Lower Health Care Costs People with pets actually make fewer doctor visits, especially for non-serious medical conditions.
Pets Help Promote Well Being
Pets help fight depression and loneliness, promoting an interest in life. When seniors face adversity or trauma, affection from pets takes on great meaning. Their bonding behavior can foster a sense of security.
Pets Improve Self-esteem & Decrease the Likelihood of Depression
"There have been studies that have suggested pet owners are more likely to have higher self-worth and are less likely to suffer loneliness and depression," says Dr Deborah Wells, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Belfast, who has conducted several studies on the benefits of pet ownership. "Dogs seem to bring people the biggest benefits - you have to get out and walk them every day, and they can act as a social catalyst."
Pets are Particularly Beneficial for Children.
"Pets can become like a therapist, for want of a better word said Dr. Wells, If children are bullied at school, or their parents are getting divorced, children will often tell their pets their problems whereas they wouldn't always talk to a person."
Pets are Highly Beneficial to the Well Being of Many Elderly Patients
Pets As Therapy has been running for 25 years and has 4,000 dogs and 106 cats, which visit 120,000 people in hospitals, hospices, care homes, day care centers and schools for children with special needs every week.
"We started taking dogs into nursing homes, because elderly people had to give up their pets when they went in and it was making them depressed and in many cases ill," says Maureen Fennis, the chief executive. "At one nursing home, there was a lady who used to say the visits were her reason for staying alive."
The Routine & "Normality" of Having a Pet
helps people suffering from a traumatic event, such as bereavement or diagnosis of a terminal illness. In one study, it was found that people with animals to care for adjusted far better after the death of someone close than those without pets.
Dogs Can Act as a Health Warning
After 20 years working for the charity Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, Claire Guest was struck by the story of a colleague whose dog had repeatedly sniffed at a mole on her leg before it was diagnosed as a malignant melanoma.
Dogs can be Trained to Detect Bladder Cancer in Urine Samples
Claire Guest went on to work with researchers at Amersham hospital in Buckinghamshire, to discover whether dogs could be trained to detect bladder cancer in urine samples, and found that they could.
Dogs can be Trained to Warn Owners with Type 1 Diabetes of an Impending Hpoglycaemic, or Low Blood Sugar, Episode.
Claire Guest also trains dogs to warn owners with Type 1 diabetes of an impending hypoglycaemic, or low blood sugar, episode - they usually alert their owners by jumping up. "We don't know exactly how the dogs do it, but again they pick up on scent because they sniff the person before deciding whether to warn them or not. Because they also have a relationship with their owner, they may be able to pick up on other signs."
Similarly, in 2007, a cancer research center in California published a study which found that ordinary household dogs could be trained to detect early breast and lung cancer between 88% and 97% of the time, by sniffing people's breath -it's thought that these particular cancer cells give off minuscule traces of volatile odors that dogs can smell. The idea is that, once they have worked out which odors dogs are detecting and which cancers emit them, a diagnostic machine could be developed.
Pet Owners Continue to Cite Companionship, Love and Company -As the top Benefits of Pet Ownership
Americans appreciate the companionship and love that their pets provide, especially to older owners.
Pet owners still believe a benefit associated with ownership is to help teach children responsibility.
Percent of pet owners who:
- Celebrate their pet's birthday - 59%
- Specially prepare foods for their pet - 66%
- Occasionally Dress their pet - 24%
- Consistently Travel with their pet - 68%
- Carry a pet health insurance policy - 10%
